Thursday, 1 June 2017

To celebrate Mother’s Day, the Wassa Gold Mine branch of the Golden Star Ladies Club hosted a program to recognize widows and single mothers who had taken their children through higher education, and combined it with a blood donation program in aid of the Tarkwa Government Hospital.

The launch of Golden Star Ladies Club's march and blood donation program

Happy Mother’s Day!

Twenty widows and single mothers from Wassa’s catchment communities were recognized for having defied all sorts of difficulties to educate their children in order to allow them to achieve their academic potential. The women were honoured with gift hampers in recognition of their commitment.

Margaret Acquah receives her award from the Hon. James Nkrumah, Akyempim Assemblyman

These are just a few of the inspirational, award-winning mothers celebrated by the Golden Star Ladies Club. Read on for the stories of these women and the impact of the award on their lives…

Adelaide Koranteng

“As a mother there have been times when it has not been easy. I have had to make great sacrifices to be able to cater for my children’s needs and education. I am excited and grateful for my award from the Golden Star Ladies Club, and urge all parents to have trust and patience with their wards and to work hard towards nurturing and educating them.”

Rebecca Ametepe

“The dream of every mother is to see to the comfort of her children. The award given to me by Golden Star has boosted my energy and I encourage all parents to invest in their children’s education so they become great people in the future.”

Emelia Hemeng

“Things have not been easy for me since my husband died. I am doing my best for my children and I know they are grateful for the motherly love I have for them. The Golden Star Ladies Club has made me stronger and I am so grateful to them as they have made me realize that I am recognized as a hardworking, responsible and great mum to my children.”

Juliana Owusu

“I am one of many widows in the community and I thank the Golden Star Ladies for the award and honor. It’s been eight years since my husband passed. In my own childhood my father died very early and we struggled without education. I work hard for my four children as I don’t want them to have the same experience. It’s my prayer that the mine will grow from grace to grace and that my colleagues also strive hard to get their children educated.”

Grace Amoh

“I am thankful and ask for God’s blessings for the Golden Star Ladies Club and the company for their recognition and honor. My sister and her husband died leaving their son behind and I have taken the responsibility to invest in his education. With this award from Golden Star, I encourage every mother to look after their wards.”

Grace Amoh accepts her award from Nana Ankonful Nuamah I, former Chief of Akyempim village

Donating Blood to Save Lives

The Golden Star Ladies Club also utilized the occasion to launch a blood donation program in support of the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital. According to the National Blood Service, only 44% of donated blood in Ghana comes from non-remunerated blood donors, with the remainder from family or replacement blood donors, making initiatives such as this critical is to saving the lives of women, babies and others.

During the program, 117 people volunteered to donate blood. Of those, screening found that 65 were able to donate, making the exercise very worthwhile. All donors were rewarded by the Golden Star Ladies Club with a hamper to recognize their important, life-saving contribution. The program also enabled volunteers to know their health status and seek treatment if issues were identified.

Golden Star employees make life saving blood donations

Here is what the donors had to say about the program:

Janet Takyi

“My sister died because my parents did not have money to buy blood when it was needed. I donated to save the lives of others. This is a first in our community and I ask God to bless the Golden Star Ladies Club for helping us save lives as well. I urge everyone to help in the donation of blood since someone will be able to live because you donated.”

Felix Boakye Mensah

“I thank and bless the Golden Star Ladies Club for the great impact they have made in the community. I am glad to overcome the fear I had about blood donation in order to save lives. I urge everyone to help in saving the lives of others for you don’t know who will help you in the future.”

Rebeccca Quansah

“I have lived in the community for 22 years and it’s the first time a blood donation program has been organized. It feels good volunteering to save the lives of people. God bless the Golden Star Ladies for such a great program and giving hope for people to be able to live again.”

Bismark Fosu

“Blood is life and people out there are in need of my blood and so I have donated to save someone from dying. I encourage everyone to donate blood and to know their own blood status. Thank you to Golden Star Ladies Club for this opportunity.”

Afia Dufie-Nkansa

“As a member of the Golden Star Ladies Club, I love being able to support the saving of lives, especially pregnant women. I urge everyone to participate in the donation of blood.”

Seth Tawiah

“It’s my pleasure as a worker to support the ladies in the blood donation program to save lives and also get to know my blood status as well. God bless the Golden Star Ladies Club for such a great initiative.”

What Is the Impact of Blood Donation?

Tarkwa Municipal Hospital team with George Amankwah-Kumi, Golden Star's Group and Community Health Coordinator

Read on to find out what the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital team had to say about the impact of the program...

Emmanuel Osei, Senior Biomedical Scientist

“I am very excited about the blood donation program organized by the Golden Star Ladies Club. The entire medical team is grateful for the blood collected, which can potentially save 30-40 lives. We encourage everyone to put away fears and get involved in this kind of program because nothing will harm them in giving out blood to save a brother.”

Lydia Quaicoe, Midwife

“Congratulations to the Golden Star Ladies Club for such a marvelous program for its communities. We show our appreciation for the donors by giving them a donor card to assist them when they may need blood to survive. I encourage everyone to help in saving lives – through blood donation you can have your blood screened and detect any diseases early. GIVE BLOOD, SAVE LIVES!”

Dr. Fredrick Sarpong, Medical Superintendent

“We show our gratitude and give thanks to the Golden Star Ladies for this program. We really need the blood now to save lives. We thank the team as well as the donors and may God bless them all. Blood is expensive and so I encourage everyone to participate to save the lives of people, especially our mothers and wives. who are in labor and about to deliver.”

The Golden Star Ladies Club and Women of Wassa (WOW)!

As a testimony to the dedication of the Golden Star Ladies Club, let’s hand over to the Club Executive team to conclude…

Gifty Bilson, Chairperson

“We gave the Golden Star Ladies Club a boost by championing girl child education, helping save lives by organizing a blood donation program, and awarding parents showing great leadership in their children’s education. We intend to mentor, inspire and motivate children, especially the girls, to stop involvement in galamsey (illegal mining) and to make education their priority.

"The influence of a mother on a child’s life is very profound and with the award, we are encouraging mothers to keep making every contribution towards their children especially with education. We hear of people, especially pregnant women, dying in surgery and delivery due to lack of blood, hence the idea of blood donation program to help save lives. We thank everyone who supported the program and may the good God bless us all.”

Dorcas Osae, Vice Chairperson

“As a young girl I saw the hardships my mum went through for us. I am now a widow and a single mother, therefore the decision to focus on single mothers and widows this Mother’s Day was such a joy to me. I can identify with their plight, the silent tears, heartaches, and scarcity, to raise our children well. It was an opportunity to speak words of endearment, appreciation and pride to honor mothers. Instead of dwelling on the loss of my mum, I choose to celebrate her philosophy of living.

"Maya Angelou once said “I've learned that people will forget what you said, and what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Indeed we set aside our work to make the mothers in the local communities feel ‘special’. We want mothers to know we care about them; that they should not lose hope; and that they are heroes!

"For the young and upcoming girls in our catchment area, it is our desire to mentor them to aspire to become independent and responsible women in society. I would like to thank the long list of supporters to our program – you made it a success. Bravo to the women of Wassa for demonstrating that indeed “mbaa, som bo!”

Dorcas Osae, Vice Chairperson of the Golden Star Ladies Club, shares a moment with Mrs Ahoalo, one of the award winners

If you'd like to find out more about Golden Star and its approach to CSR, please visit www.gsr.com/responsibility.